Kelsey, II: I'd Swim The Ocean For You
by SILENTMUSINGS
Summary: Sequel to Kelsey Shawn has what he'd always hoped to find. Kelsey is all he dreamed of and more. How can she bring peace to his neglected mind and body?


**Other title options: Kelsey, II: Electric Boogaloo. XD  
****Reading part one would be highly beneficial to your interests. (: And sorry about  
****the ending. Again, I own nothing. Special mention to thecatchisdeadliest. I hope this  
****isn't too terrible. C: **

Shawn stepped off the plane both weary and aching. The travelling and matches that accompanied the journey had taken more of a toll on his body than usual. He knew that with age the aftermath would worsen, the pain and injuries would gradually increase in frequency and in strength; it all came with his job.

The knowledge didn't prepare him for the chronic throbbing in his back, or for the slight limp that he seemed to have picked up with time. He was definitely beginning to feel his age. The alternative wasn't much better for his self esteem. The word retirement did nothing but bring a scowl to his face. In his mind it should be reserved for grey fifty and sixty year olds with sweater vests and interest in joining a country club. The day that he compared himself with those people was the day he needed to be put out of his misery. Sure, he was steadily approaching that age and there were more and more consequences for putting his body on the line each night, but he couldn't ever acknowledge it without being scared out of his wits. Shawn Michaels had never known anything but wrestling, and wrestling was his life.

Going home also brought other feelings: relief, a sense of peace, anticipation; going home meant being with his Kelsey. All the injuries, all the tiresome interviews and side work that he had to do, it all flew out the window each time he saw the joy on her face as he walked through the door. Nothing made him consider staying home forever more than her and her amazing smile and amazing laugh and the concern she always showed for him without fail.

Hauling himself out of the car and thanking his driver sincerely Shawn looked up at her house, _their_ house, with a grin on his face. He saw the door burst open, and as though his life were a movie she rushed to greet him and he swept her up into his arms, ignoring the flash for pain that came with the push of effort. It worried him more than he would say. She was tiny, so small against him, what did that mean for anything else? His career didn't exactly involve as light weights as her.

"I missed you so much," She murmured into the crook of his neck, squeezing him slightly.

"I love you, Kels." He said in response. Shawn watched as she lifted her head from his shoulder, smiling at him brightly. He tilted her head to capture her lips with his. It was yet another of the mind blowing kisses that seemed to fill their time. It made him want to carry her straight up to their bedroom and make love to her. That would have to wait, though.

"Well, I guess I kinda-sorta-like you." She joked after they pulled away, only causing him to roll his eyes and sling an arm around her shoulder. Shawn watched as she picked up the heaviest of his bags and realized that somehow she just knew. He didn't know how she did; he thought he had masked everything that he was feeling perfectly, but she could see right through him.

"Sweetheart, why don't you let me take that one?" He questioned, trying not to give himself away completely. It didn't work, the look that she shot him said that much. He backed away from the matter, unsure as to whether he was slightly amused at her stubbornness or ashamed at the condition he was in and that she could read him so easily. Deciding not to push it, he picked up the smaller of the two bags, eyes trained on the ground.

Without verbally replying to his question, she instead insisted that she get him inside, help him get resettled and fix him something to eat. He couldn't lie and say that he was used to being fussed over by someone who wasn't paid to do so. Nor was he used to coming back and being welcomed back into the house; into their home. It had taken Shawn a long time to come to terms with the idea that Kelsey cared about him, even that she loved him. He had his chance at love, right? It didn't seem real. He had made so many mistakes in life, so how he had managed to get to such a comfortable place was way beyond him. As much as he didn't want to question things, well, he couldn't help it. Something was going to come careening into his life soon and ruin everything.

Discarding the bags beside the door for a moment, they continued in until they reached the lounge room, at which they turned to face one another. Wordlessly she fell into his chest, resting her hands on his waist before snaking them around him fully. Shawn felt so relaxed at that moment, his eyes closed to reflect the tire he felt more and more often.

"How is it that this is so effortless and it feels so right?" He mumbled into her hair, allowing himself to make his insecurities known for the first time since that night it all started.

"Because it is," Was her simple response. She was the level headed one, the confident one. Kelsey didn't stop to think about what consequences would come from her actions as much as he did. It felt natural to her and she loved him; that was all that it took for her to trust in him. Shawn only wished that he had such assurance in his actions. Sadly, though, he did not. He trusted her and her judgment instead and it was enough. She was the one person in his life that stopped his constant worrying and eased his otherwise nonsensical fears.

"How do you have so much faith in me?" He questioned once more, "In us?"

"Because like you said: it feels so right."

That one he could not argue with. Even he had said it. He had just been worrying too much once again. Sensing that he wasn't feeling the best, Kelsey disentangled her limbs from around him and pushed a stray piece of hair away from his downturned eyes. Her hand hung there against his temple.

"How about you rest on the couch for a minute and find something to watch while I go make you something to eat." She had taken the first few steps back from the heat of his body and begun to turn before he pulled her back to him.

"Stay with me for a while, please." He quietly persisted, and she could do nothing but comply. He needed her and that was it-she would stick by his side until he grew sick and tired of her presence.

Shawn moved to the couch, keeping a hold of her hand, and sat down. He motioned to his lap, an invitation that she accepted; though once again she did not miss the look of uneasiness that etched on his face. In an attempt to keep him as comfortable as possible Kelsey shuffled accordingly so that it was mostly just her legs that were slung over his and she instead sat more in the fissure of the cushions, snuggling into his chest and the crook of his neck. The look that had laced his features had been ebbed, so she hoped that she had moved enough for him.

They sat like that for a long time, saying nothing and doing even less. The two were just content to be together. Shawn was almost dozing, but there was a million and one things running through his head, as there was in Kelsey's. She was so worried, but how was she to bring it up? She couldn't just come outright and say it. There needed to be a little tact and softness involved. Perhaps she would just bring it up later.

"So how were things while I was away?" His tired voice asked. She wanted to smile but at the same time scold him for being so damn silly about everything. Something was wrong; she knew that much, he was in pain yet he still tried his hardest to pretend that everything was alright. Whether it was that stupid male masochist gene or just his inescapable anxiety she wasn't sure, she just wished that she could do something more to help.

"It wasn't too terrible. It wasn't great either. Don't die of shock, but I actually watched WWE Raw because I was so bored. That was about the most interesting thing that happened."

Shawn chuckled. Getting the girl to watch Raw was like trying to get an elephant into a public restroom. It just wasn't going to happen, she definitely wasn't a big wrestling fan; the fact that she always called it 'WWE Raw' and not just Raw or wrestling said as much to Shawn. One thing she hadn't admitted to him was that she hadn't watched it because she was bored, as she had said, she watched it because she missed seeing his face every day.

"And what about you? Did anything interesting happen while you were away?"

"Oh, not so much."

This worried Kelsey even more. If there was one thing that Shawn would never shut up about it was the things that he and Hunter got up to on the road, the pranks they played and the amazing things that they would see. When he was so quiet it wasn't natural. She couldn't take it. Sitting up straight so they were at the same level, she took his hand in hers and looked into his eyes.

"Okay, Shawn; what's wrong? Something's really bothering you."

"It's nothing; I just need to get some sleep I think. It's just something stupid."

"The only thing that's stupid is that you're being secretive. You know you can talk to me about anything, right? You seem to act as though your problems will be insignificant to me when that couldn't be further from the truth, Shawn. I just want you to let me help you."

Shawn had been right. She could see everything that he had been trying to hide. He didn't know how to react. Despite the effort that he had supposedly put in she had been able to basically counter every reason why he had been afraid to tell her.

"You shouldn't worry so much about me. It's just that I'm getting old. Wrestling and traveling just seem a lot harder than they used to be and I'm not sure how much longer I have in me until I have to…"

He couldn't bring himself to even approach the subject. It was all well and good in his head, but if he verbalized his fear, well Shawn didn't know what would happen. His world would implode or his fairytale ruined, he wasn't quite sure. Kelsey, as always, could see from his eyes the fear he wouldn't tell. His reluctance caused her to back away from the subject; no matter how much she wanted to help him she knew that it wouldn't help matters in the slightest.

"You're hurting." She put simply, all her emotion stored in her eyes as it so often was between the two of them. They weren't excellent mind readers and they didn't pretend to be, but when it came to one another they could have been experts.

"Yes," Shawn's hoarse voice managed to croak. For a few moments afterwards the room was filled with silence. Another thing that Shawn wouldn't ever speak of was exactly how ashamed he was to admit his weakness, or as Kelsey would put it: 'Guys and their stupid delusions of the superiority of emotional and physical strength.'

"Could you lie on the floor, on your stomach? I want to try something." She insisted, a request that he complied with after a moment's hesitation, though confused as to the reason why he was doing so. If he were being honest Shawn would admit just how badly he'd felt the need to relax (but admitting things-even to Kelsey-wasn't one of his stronger qualities). Preferably on the comfortable softness of a bed, but this wasn't a horrible option either, at least it was flat and stationary. Laying there, still at a loss for knowledge as to what was going on, he could feel his eyes flutter closed in a way that he guessed wasn't so attractive, thankfully no one was looking into his face at that point in time.

"Oh, you should probably take your shirt off…" She added as an afterthought. It was another request to which he accepted, still not knowing the outcome, but with the raise of an eyebrow as an addition. Kelsey didn't miss the small movement and decided it was probably best not to leave him wondering. It wasn't like she was going to sexually assault him or anything terrible as he may have seen it.

"I'm just going to give you a massage, alright? To help relax your muscles."

"You don't have to do that sweetheart. I swear I'll be fine, I just need a bit of rest."

"Please, you just got home. I want to be able to do something for you, and since I'd probably burn the house down if I cooked something more than two-minute noodles that's just out of the question and I'm pretty hopeless at basically everything else. Please?"

"Well, I guess I can't complain."

"Damn straight."

At first Kelsey's hands ghosted over his back like air. A shiver ran up and down Shawn's spine and he was pretty sure a trail of goose bumps followed not far behind. Her touch put him so at ease that he barely noticed when she began to build up the pressure she put into the fluid movements. She massaged from his lower back to his neck and shoulders, his arms; she managed to find kinks that he never knew had formed beneath the surface. A series of groans escaped his lips as she focused on the more tense areas and a series of moans in others. In a way it amused her how uncensored he had become in only a few minutes. From the moment he'd got home it was as though he were trying to be the tough man she hoped he realized he didn't have to be when she was around. It may have been necessary around the locker room and at shows, but at home he was just Shawn and she was just Kelsey; that was all that needed to matter. If giving him a massage somehow helped him realize that, well she was quite willing to give one every day and from the sound of things he wouldn't mind too terribly.

Shawn didn't know what it was or how she was doing it, but somehow with all of one touch Kelsey managed to break down all the walls he's learned to hold up on the road. He didn't mean to, but he just got so used to them being there that it crossed over from his work life to his personal life. Perhaps he couldn't blame Rebecca for feeling the way that she did or Kelsey for being so worried. He'd never felt like this with Rebecca, he'd never been pushed to _let_ himself feel this. The girl that he now called 'home' may have been the one who made all the difference. Her hands worked magic on his pained body, but her kindness and ability to show compassion was what Shawn was amazed by every day.

It had been so hard to go back out to work after everything that had transpired the last time. He had been so afraid that he would come back to find nothing and nobody waiting for him once more. Of course her promise soothed him, but the fear of history repeating itself had always plagued Shawn, no matter where he was or what he was doing, and after the series incidents with Rebecca there were no way that he would have been able to keep on without Kelsey by his side to comfort him and for support in general.

"You're amazing." Were the first words to come out of his mouth when they both decided that it was probably enough for one day.

"Oh stop it Shawn. I'm just trying to help."

"And that makes you even more amazing, in my book."

"Oh, stop it," Was her reply, though the smile on her face betrayed her.

They still sat on the floor, wrapped in each other. Shawn would have it no other way, and neither would Kelsey, for at that moment the only thing they knew was each other; the only one they wanted to acknowledge was each other without the interruptions of the surrounding world.

"Do you want something to eat? I could make you a nice sandwich or pour you some cereal or something if you wanted. Or I could run you a bath? That could help with the aches, too. Then again you probably just want to go to bed, I don't blame you at all. I'd be exhaus-."

"Let's just sit here for a while."

"Okay."


End file.
